DAC3 Review - John Gatski, Everything Audio Network
DAC3 HGC - "More Space, Increased Precision"
The Benchmark DAC3 is the first product to ship with the new ESS Technology ES9028PRO D/A converter chip.
The Benchmark DAC3 is the first product to ship with the new ESS Technology ES9028PRO D/A converter chip.
"It may look like the DAC2 HGC, but the new DAC3 HGC offers a slew of better measurements and more notably, an incremental boost in sound quality."
"Via headphones I definitely could hear more space around the instruments and an increased precision in transients — like cymbals and upper-register piano notes."
"In terms of new functions, the DAC3 switches a lot faster between inputs, and gone is that audibly phasy transition when you initially switch between two digital sources."
"Audible Improvements"
"Though audible improvements in DACs these days are mostly subtle, Benchmark delivers a new, audibly superior version over the DAC2, plus added a few ergonomic upgrades, such as faster source switching. It does not look any different, but it certainly sounds different."
" I deployed the DAC3 HGC into my audiophile system, which consisted of MartinLogan Montis speakers, Pass Labs X350.8 amp, and Benchmark’s ultra-quiet AHB2 bipolar output amplifier. I used the DAC3 as a preamp, and as a DAC through my Rogue Audio RP-5 tube preamp. Sources included a TASCAM DA-3000 hi-res player/recorder, an Oppo BDP-105, an ASUS Android tablet with USB Audio Player Pro in the bit perfect mode, connected by USB 2.0; and a Macbook Pro laptop using Audirvana Plus."
"With this new ESS chip that low-end “over warmth” is gone. The Anthony Wilson Trio title cut’s kick drum, and the midbass organ imprint was leaner, tighter and clearer. This allows the articulation of the air around the guitar notes and the cymbals to emerge to a proper balance."
"I immediately noticed the improvement when A/B’ing the DAC3 and the DAC2. And it was confirmed by headphones, as well as line output through the preamp/amp path. I don’t know what ESS did in its new chip, or whether Benchmark tweaked the analog; or it is a combination of the two, but the emerging audio detail was more balanced than the DAC2."
"And that is really the essence of the sonic improvement of the DAC3; the precision and air inherent in good recordings is noticeably improved with the DAC3. All my reference Pop and Jazz ensemble, piano recordings, acoustic guitar and nylon classical guitar recordings sound more dimensional and alive."
"By the way, one other area of improvement for the DAC3 is its switching speed from one digital source to another... It was always hard to accurately discern real differences when A/B listening through the DACs because the new sources always sounded different than the previous source. With the DAC3’s super fast PLL and switching relays, the DAC3 is pretty much an A/B switch."
"The Verdict"
"As with the original DAC1 and DAC2, Benchmark proves it can take advantage of the latest DAC chip technology and notch up the performance of its latest version D/A, the DAC3."
"Though audible improvements in DACs these days are mostly subtle, Benchmark delivers a new, audibly superior version over the DAC2, plus added a few ergonomic upgrades, such as faster source switching. It does not look any different, but it certainly sounds different."
"Although it came out late in the year, the DAC3 was worth waiting for, and it receives the EAN Stellar Sound Award and a last-minute slide into the Everything Audio Network Product-of-The-Year Award in the DAC category."
- John Gatski, Publisher, Everything Audio Network
Also in Reviews
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"10 years after its release, the Benchmark Media Systems AHB2 stereo power amp is still a standard-bearer in clean, neutral sound in the audiophile world."
"I greatly enjoyed having a pair of AHB2s in my system – their purity, neutrality, and seemingly unlimited power provided a clear window on the music and a lot of joy."
"I especially appreciated the AHB2’s smooth, well-integrated treble, free of splashiness or grain, and its natural reproduction of the human voice."
- Mike Prager, Future Audiophile
AHB2 Review - Constantine Soo, Dagogo
"The AHB2 bridgeable stereo amplifier ... was the topic of a recent discussion between American electrostatic panel speaker manufacturer Sound Lab’s president, Dr. Roger West, and me."
"In our discussion, he related his highly positive experience in driving even his largest, $55k Majestic 945 panels with the $7,000 pair of Benchmark Media AHB2 monoblocks, along with the $3,050 LA4 Preamplifier and factory XLR cables."
"Dr. West described the AHB2 as a class AB design using “feed-forward distortion reduction [thus removing] any possibility of pushing the margin of safety of a standard feedback loop, used in most amplifiers, into an unstable oscillatory mode.”"
"He further shared with me that “this is of most concern on powerful musical transients. The distortion of the amplifier in the balanced mode is astonishingly low even at just below the clipping level of 380 watts.”"
"The prospect of the AHB2’s specified distortion level of 0.00015% or lower when at full volume is comical at first glance, but upon actual audition the impact of the achievement is very audible from medium-high listening levels and upward."
"It was unlike any other sub-$20,000 amplifier I have auditioned."
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DAC3 Review - Jerry Del Colliano
"Benchmark is a stalwart brand in pro audio, but has carved out a very respectable niche in the audiophile world with their diminutive but powerful components."
"The audiophile world sometimes looks to the professional audio world for enlightenment, especially on the digital side of things, and Benchmark Media is one of the companies that we put high on a pedestal."
"They are hardcore digital engineers freezing their asses off in upstate New York as they come up with some pretty innovative ways to get your varied digital sources sounding as much like the master tape as possible. Thank you for your service, gentlemen."
"If you really want to hear what your music sounds like in today’s streaming-driven world, this might just be the DAC that you need to test out."
- Jerry Del Colliano, Future Audiophile